Page 60 of Red Rabbit
“Kaelin.”
Before I could make out who it was, the darkness pulled me under again.
When I woke up I wasn’t in my cell anymore. I was in a bed, I could feel it soft underneath me. I was still wearing the white dress or some sort of garment, I could feel it on my skin. But I immediately knew something was wrong because I couldn’t move. I didn’t feel restrained but through the fog in my brain, I realized I was drugged.
I saw Paxton appear above me and I wanted to scream or struggle but I couldn’t. Whatever was given to me was the same as the drug the first day. I could see and feel but I couldn’t move an inch.
“Well, I’ve been reduced to supervised visits,” Paxton said with a scowl. “Apparently I’ve damaged Cooper’s goods too extensively.”
He ran his hands over my body and I wanted to die as he ignited the pain again. For the next few hours, I was in hell. Worse than hell—all that existed for me was pain and without the ability to struggle, scream or process it out of my body, it ripped my mind away from me.
Paxton raped me and played with my injuries until I felt the moment my mind broke and I went somewhere so dark and crazed I didn’t even recognize myself. Eventually the chaos closed in around me and I welcomed the darkness as it crawled across my vision and pulled my tortured mind away from reality.I sank screaming silently into the abyss and was thankful when everything finally faded away.
When I became conscious again, I didn’t know how much time passed but I was completely disoriented. It took a lot of effort for me to form a coherent thought. I lay there staring at the ceiling until I realized I could move again. I was so relieved I yanked my arm up with too much effort and slapped myself in the face. That woke me up more. My body was heavy, every movement took monumental effort like I was wading through mud. My thoughts kept slipping away from me. I turned my head and it took my brain a minute to register what I was seeing.
Sal and Tank were dead.
Then I heard running water in the bathroom and the terror that gripped me was all consuming.
Did Paxton kill them?
That meant we were alone and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt this was when I would die. He was going to kill me.
I tried to climb off the bed and run, but I didn’t have any strength and I ended up falling off and tumbling onto the ground. I tried again but only managed to get to my knees before I fell again. I heard footsteps coming out of the bathroom and my mind went blank with terror.
I scrambled across the floor, my movements painfully slow. I was screaming and pleading and sobbing so hard I couldn’t see. My chest was tight and I couldn’t breathe over the panic. I tried to get to the door but the guards bodies were in the way and I was still in too much of a drug fog to navigate over them. Then through my hysteria I heard my name.
“Kaelin! Kaelin! Stop! It’s me—.”
I chill ran through me so violently I shivered and I turned and tried to focus on the man coming towards me, drawn to the use of my name. I was gasping for breath and my chestwas heaving, I almost panicked again when I couldn’t seem to draw a full breath. I still couldn’t quite comprehend what was happening but my vision cleared and the man’s features swam into view.
It was Graham.
No, it wasn’t possible. It had to be a hallucination. He was dead. I saw him die.
“Hey—Shh—I’m here—come here.”
He was making soothing sounds as he knelt near me. His face looked pained as he took in my distraught state. He wasn’t moving towards me anymore but he was holding out his hands, letting me make the move.
“Graham?” I said hoarsely. “What—what are you—? Oh my god—” I reached out to him, his image wavered through my tears and as my fingertips touched his, I broke apart and completely lost it.
22
GRAHAM
The minute her fingers touched mine, I pulled her into my chest where she collapsed sobbing. I held her tightly, trying to keep my own emotions at bay.
“Shh—I’m here—I’ve got you—” I just kept repeating it as I held her, stroking her hair. Her cries were of someone completely and utterly shattered. The state she was in made me nearly blind with rage. I wish I could have made a move sooner. I was almost too late, any longer—she was already destroyed but at least she was alive.
I could work with alive.
I gripped her tightly in my arms, trying to hold her pieces together. Her cries tore at my soul and she felt like a shell with too many cracks. I could practically feel her soul leaking through my fingers. I don’t know how long we sat there on the ground but her frantic crying finally stopped. She was shaking and breathing in small gasps as she tried to catch her breath.
“Just breathe baby—just breathe—” She shifted in my arms and looked up at me. Those beautiful green eyes now haunted, dull and so terrified I felt sick.
“How are you here?” Her voice was ragged and weak.
“I wasn’t going to leave you here,” I scoffed.
